Svitolina fights through, Thiem cruises at US Open

New York, Aug 30 (AFP) Ukraine's fourth-seeded Elina
Svitolina, fighting to become world number one, and Austrian
sixth seed Dominic Thiem captured rain-interrupted matches
Wednesday to reach the second round of the US Open.

Svitolina, seeking her sixth title of the year and first
Grand Slam crown, held off 42nd-ranked Czech Katerina
Siniakova 6-0, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 while Thiem finished off
Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 under sunny skies.

There were 87 matches scheduled Wednesday in the year's
final Grand Slam event after rain washed out most of Tuesday's
agenda, 11 of them halted first-round affairs.

Former world number one Maria Sharapova, who in her Grand
Slam return from a 15-month doping ban upset second-ranked
Simona Halep, was set to face Hungary's 59th-ranked Timea
Babos in a later second-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Sharapova, a five-time Grand Slam champion, tested
positive for blood booster meldonium in the 2016 Australian
Open, her most recent Grand Slam appearance until this week.

She played only one hardcourt tuneup match due to a
forearm injury but powered past one of seven contenders for
the world number one ranking still in the field.

Another of those is Svitolina, who dropped six of nine
tie-breaker points when her match resumed, but survived a
third set, breaking for a 4-2 edge and serving out for the
victory.

"It was a little bit unlucky to stop because I was
playing good," Svitolina said. "Today was a little bit of a
mess in my head. It was tough to keep my focus. I'm happy I
could win the third set and play really good tennis.

"I was just trying to fight for every ball. You can't win
if you're not mentally strong."

Thiem, a semi-finalist at the past two French Opens, was
working to adapt his skill on the Paris red clay to maximum
impact on the New York hardcourts.

"I'm pretty pleased with the performance," Thiem said.

"I'm trying to improve my hardcourt game. I cannot play
my clay game here. I can't stay close to the baseline."

Canadian 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov, who faces French
eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga later, can become the youngest
man in the third round of a Grand Slam since Australia's
Bernard Tomic at the 2011 Australian Open and in the US Open
since American Donald Young in 2007.

Other later second-round matches include German fourth
seed Alexander Zverev against Croatian Borna Coric and 2014 US
Open winner Marin Cilic, the fifth seed from Croatia coming
off a Wimbledon runner-up effort, against German Florian
Mayer.

Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, the third seed from
Spain, can reach the US Open third round for the first time by
beating China's 92nd-ranked Duan Ying-Ying.

And seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams, this
year's Wimbledon and Australian Open runner-up, meets France's
Oceane Dodin. The US ninth seed is the oldest woman in the
field at 37